stick a caption under there and call it good

Weapons to defeat uncle Ryan

Adam's Day with Dad

Cute kid doing art project at Arizona Museum for Youth

Here's the cute kid again eating an ice cream cone for Family Night treat

Dallin says, "Owen's a Wascal.  Not a 'rascal,' he's a Wascal."  Cute wascal though.

Making a Banner

Finished Project

And let's do another one for Grandpa.

The End.

Geek Squad

IT guys. Love 'em or hate 'em, we all need them. In the early days computers were crude, clunky, and would encounter severe problems at unpredictable times. Nowadays computers are far more predictable. A standard modern PC is designed to encounter severe problems precisely 7 times each year--usually when the user is working on an important Relief Society hand out or trying to catch the Biggest Loser finale on Hulu. Hence the need for those brave souls known affectionately as "IT guys".

Our family is fortunate to have our own IT guy. Like many geeks he's generally good-natured and and attracted to anything that glows; he also shares the all-too-common trait of sometimes smelling funny and is often found with food stains on his shirt. But we love him for it. After all he's only 11 months old.

Which may explain why his repretoire of computer fixes is limited. When there is a problem Owen will usually pound his hand repeatedly on the keboard, throw the mouse, or perform multiple hard restarts by pressing the PC power button again and again. That's his favorite trick.

Take the other week, for example. Marily had been laboring over a blog post and stepped away from the computer for a minute. Something in Owen's highly technical brain must have sensed that a virus was threatening our computer at that very moment because he crawled over to the computer--nearly at light speed--and promptly pushed the power button initiating an immediate hard shut down of the computer. I tried getting an explanation from the little guy as to what type of emergency warranted such swift action, but like many of his techno brethren his verbal skills are--shall we say--somewhat lacking. Some IT guys have trouble forming complete sentences. Owen struggles with forming intelligible words. I remain convinced he had his reasons, though.

Although our family appreciates Owen's generosity of taking upon himself the task of keeping the computer healthly, some members have expressed doubt that he knows what the heck he's doing. Some have even taken measures to physically impede our adorable geek from even touching the computer. But his enthusiasm remains unabated. He luuuuuuuvs fixing that computer, and we luuuuuuv our little IT guy.

Simplify

This has been on my mind lately.  Funny, because I am starting to notice it has been on other people's minds also.  What could that mean?

I seem to be getting the message to simplify my life.  To be honest, I think my life is not that complicated when I compare to others(which I shouldn't be doing, I know)--that there are a lot of things that we don't spend time and money on already.  Our kids are not involved in many activities, we haven't yet ventured into sports for them, we try to keep our stuff to a minimum, and we are not really ones to go out and spend money on more things that we don't need.  But I have realized that there are a lot of ways that I can simplify my life to make more time for more important things and not waste energy and worry about things that don't matter.  I had been thinking a lot about this and started to write down some of my thoughts in my journal when my dear friend Kathryn added this quote from Marjorie Hinckley to her blog:

"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.  As you create a home, don't get distracted with a lot of things that have no meaning for you or your family.  Don't dwell on your failures, but think about your successes.  Have joy in your home.  Have joy in your children.  Have joy in your husband.  Be grateful for the journey."

The other week I was at the library checking out books with the kids.  It was time to go so I decided we'd just swing through the adults' section and I quickly grabbed a couple of books that caught my eye.  One of them was this one:

I have really enjoyed reading this book and have gotten a lot out of it.  Mostly I have benefited from trying to change my way of thinking about what is really essential and what is merely optional.  I am trying to reevaluate lots of different things.  We are going to get rid of lots of toys and other things.  We are going to scale back on the amount of clothes and toys that we store in the house.  I am going to go through every last corner of this house and rid it off the excess stuff that is cluttering up our lives.  I am going to recommit myself to my morning and evening cleaning routines. 

One major change that I am working on is that I have decided that I spend way too much time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.  I know that not everyone has this problem, so you might laugh at me for it.  But I have told myself that cooking is the only hobby I have left.  I enjoy it but the whole process of looking up new recipes, making grocery lists, going shopping, cooking meals, and then cleaning up after them is taking too much of my time that I could be spending on more important things like playing with my kids, mostly.  I have decided I need to simplify this area of my life.  I am kicking around the idea of doing something like this for dinners:

Monday: meatless

Tuesday: 2X Tuesday (Make double of something that can be frozen for later or eaten the next night)

Wednesday: Freezer meal

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Movie night (eat pizza or hotdogs or something easy)

Saturday: sandwiches (paninis, subs, grilled cheese, etc)

Sunday: who knows

I think having some type of schedule will make meal planning take less time.  I like to be more flexible with meals, to cook whatever sounds good, or whatever sounds fun to prepare, but I think this is what we need right now.  I realized when I don't have to cook dinner or I do something super easy I have so much more time, partly saving time from cooking, but also all the time saved not having to clean up as much. 

The cooking thing is my first step.  What do you do to simplify your life?  I am just barely getting started--give me your ideas.

11 Months

Dear little Owen,

You are 11 months! Wow.  How can I say this except you are a handful.  You get into lots of trouble, and that might be why you were built so cute.  We get lots of comments on your beautiful blue eyes and your daddy and I are often saying that you are the cutest thing in the world.  To us it's true.  Daddy likes it when he picks you up that you will pat your little hand over and over on his arm.  I asked your dad what you are up to and he says, "He's squirmy, he's grabby.  That pretty much sums it up."

You love to push the button to turn the computer on and off and somehow you can sense when someone has forgotten to close the bathroom door and you will bolt to it.  I have been stressed over you this last month because you went through a good three or four weeks of not eating or drinking very well.  You were sick for a while then after you seemed better your appetite didn't improve and so I took you to the doctor who said your throat was sore.  Finally you are eating and drinking again.  It's been a long month.  Also, your blood was drawn again and instead of your triglycerides being crazy high, they were only slightly high.  The doctor says this is likely because you were not able to fast for long enough to make them totally normal.  He is not worried anymore, but we will do another blood test when you are old enough to go without food for a longer period of time. 

You are standing up holding on to things and will probably stand all on your own soon.  You are a speedy little crawler (especially if the computer hutch is open or the bathroom door is open.) 

Today at 11 months we went to Grandma and Grandpa Smith's ward to hear your Aunt Courtney speak before she leaves for her mission on Wednesday.  She is going to the Baltic States mission, Estonian speaking.  She will be in the cold--Estonia borders western Russia.  We are so proud of Courtney and hope you will have a testimony and a desire to serve the Lord someday like she does.  Also during sacrament meeting four teenage boys sang a musical number.  After they were finished I said to your dad, "We need to teach our boys to sing."  I hope you will be able to feel the influence of righteous music in your life. 

You guys are so fortunate to have such great family.  Look how sweet Courtney is. 

Love you little guy,

Mom

Smith Family Staycation

 couple of weeks ago we went on vacation with Mark's family. But, we slept in our own beds at our own homes, or at least most nights we did. Everyone took a week off work and other responsibilities to party together as a family for a week. 

Day One: Temple, bowling, family pictures, and 5 Guys Burgers for dinner

Day Two: A day trip to Four Peaks.  (I stayed home with Owen who was sick, so no pictures from my camera)  That night we got babysitters for the kids and the adults all enjoyed a nice dinner at Caffe Boa in Ahwatukee.

Day Three: Fishing with Grandpa (Though we didn't end up with any pictures of grandpa)

Arizona Science Center. lunch at Mi Amigo's in downtown Phoenix, came back and some went swimming and then we set this thing up in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard.  (Okay, we is incorrect.  The guys did this, with the help of Uncle Gary and cousin Brandon.)

This tipi belongs to Mark's uncle who is scout master extraordinare.  On the other side of the back wall is a street that many people in the neighborhood have to use to get to their homes.  This gigantic tipi sticking up over the wall was quite a sight.  But we were pretty certain that the HOA wouldn't have a rule about tipis and it would only be up for a few days anyway.

Day Four: A trip to Flagstaff to go to the Skylift at Snowbowl. This was the highlight of the vacation for me. 

The skilift takes 25 minutes each way.  Here is the view going up:

After you get to the top you can take a short little hike to the summit of the mountain.

From there the view is incredible.

You can see as far as 70 miles, looking down on several mountains, and you can even see the rim of the Grand Canyon which is 60 miles away.

This is everyone except Mark's sister Lachelle and her husband and little boy.

This is the view riding back down the skyride.

If you are looking for a daytrip idea, you should definitely check this out. 

After the ride we went to a place in Flagstaff called Salsa Brava.  It had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network.  I'd been telling everyone I wanted to go to someplace during our vacation that had been featured on the show.  So I guess I was to blame that the food wasn't good.  Some people thought theirs was good, but most were not impressed.  The restaurant was featured for their Navajo tacos and stuffed sopapillas, not even their specialties.  I think it just made for good tv.  Oh well.

Day Five: Sunday we all went to church at a somewhat-random ward that none of us belonged to.  Then we gathered at home base (the parents' home) to make dutch oven dinners, hang out, and sleep overnight in the tipi. 

Day Six: In the morning the guys (Mark, his dad, his brother Ryan, and bro-in-law Danny) left to go play a round of golf.  The gals took the kids to a splash pad and park in Chandler. 

After lunch the guys came back and hung out with the kids while the ladies went out.  We ended up seeing "Letters to Juliet" and painting pottery at As You Wish.  It was a fun evening out and although most of us seemed to think the movie was cheesy, we all still left with smiles on our faces and a spring in our step.  That's what chick-flicks are for.

Day Seven: Wet n Wild and pizza.  This was a fun day too, but no pictures.

And Wednesday life went back to normal, except a mound of laundry to catch up on. 

And good grief, no wonder why I don't do this more often anymore--blogging takes too long.

been busy this week

Our in-town vacation was over on Tuesday.  We had a great time and did some really fun things like the AZ Science Center, Wet n Wild and a trip to Flagstaff.  Also, there was a very large teepee involved.  More to come on that later.  Then, once life got back to normal on Wednesday I have been busy doing laundry I have missed, taking care of a sick baby, and working on our giveaway week at I Heart Mesa.  Giveaways open til Sunday-- so don't miss it.